


Reverberating Heartbeats

by BlueRoseDream



Category: Ensemble Stars
Genre: Cuddling, F/M, I Tried, body worship kinda, female pronouns for Arashi, we have some ReiShu in here but briefly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-19
Updated: 2018-03-25
Packaged: 2019-04-04 13:56:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14021751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueRoseDream/pseuds/BlueRoseDream
Summary: Mika still feels like he hasn’t expressed his love for Arashi well enough even after dating him for an entire year. To make up for this, he tries to make something special for their first year anniversary. Sort of sequel to Heartstrings.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I liked heartstrings a lot so I decided to work with the premise a bit more and got this. Thanks to Batty for the fashion design help because that’s not familiar territory for me.

Mika still couldn’t believe it was real.  
He still couldn’t believe that such a beautiful person would actually accept his feelings and return the sentiment.  
He had to be dreaming.  
He just had to be.

But could a dream really last this long? To last an entire year?

“Oi. Kagehira.”

He jumped back a bit in surprise to find Shu giving him a frustrated expression as he gestured towards his open hand.

“Eh?”

Shu sighed and shook his head. “Were you even listening? You were the one who asked to learn how to do it after all.”

He laughed awkwardly as he started to draw circles upon the palm of his hand. It was clear that he was caught red handed and Shu knew that fairly well so he simply dismissed it as one of Mika’s usual tendencies to daydream as he repeated his explanation from the beginning. Fortunately enough, it wasn’t too long of a process to explain.

The center of his hand is where he would pull the threads from.

However, unlike Tsumugi, Kuro, Sora, and Shu, Mika could only reach for one color.

The mythical red string of fate, woven together with other heartstrings and ordinary threads, have the power to create something truly special that no one else can replicate but them. And even more than that, each person with this ability has the power to imbue something exclusive to their own capabilities. As someone who has trouble saying what he wants to say aloud, he felt that maybe this would be his way of getting his feelings across to Arashi. That is, of course, if he could stop thinking long enough to pay attention to Shu’s lecture.

“Kagehira!”

He jumped once again—startled by the sound of Shu’s voice. “Yes!”

“Honestly. What am I to do with you? Give me your hand.”

Without hesitation, Mika willingly held his hand out for Shu to trace lines across his fingers as if channeling the threads towards the palm of his hand. He could feel his fingers softly gliding upon his own, barely touching the skin, making him shiver as he exhaled and drew the thread from within him. It was a strange sensation, feeling a tug from his heart being pulled out of his hand, but he remained still as Shu asked him curiously if Mika could see his own thread.

He nodded—admiring the bright red string that seemed to glow in the sunlight spilling from the club room’s window. It was beautiful.

“I’m sure you know where this leads, do you not?”

Left alone to find its other half, the string seemed to dart through the window and stretch out towards the track field below where it made its way towards a familiar face that would always make his heart pound. It was her. It always has been and it always will. Knowing that brought tears to his eyes that threatened to fall if not for Shu wiping them away with his handkerchief. After all, Shu understood him better than anyone else which is why he decided to teach him how to do this in the first place.

There was only one problem.

“Mika.”

At the sound of Shu using his real name, Mika sat up, alert, knowing that he intends to say something very important.

“You must be very careful not to overdo this. Doing so will only lead to your collapse as this ability draws magic from within your own body. Do you understand?”

“I’ll be okay, Oshi-san! I promise.”

He wasn’t convinced but he trusted Mika enough not to do anything foolish as he left him to his own devices while he worked on a project of his own.

[Naru-chan.]

He had roughly three weeks to complete his idea before their first year anniversary and he already had something in mind.

It was something he needed Shu’s guidance to design but he decided that a high waisted dress with a flared skirt that’s off the shoulder and a belt would work nicely. He understood that Shu had warned him to be careful about straining himself with the project as this power delves deep into his core or something, so he made sure to alternate the threads with the red threads he already had on hand in the handcrafts club room. Yeah. Arashi would love it. That much he was sure about. He wasn’t confident that it would be up to par in comparison to Arashi’s beauty but he had to try.

This would be his way of telling her truly how much he loved her.

Because words were simply not enough.

***

“Hey, Mika-chan, are you alright? You’ve been dozing off a lot lately.”

It had been only a week since he started his little project and he had to admit that he was feeling a little worn down from unit practices, part time jobs, and making the dress. He couldn’t bring himself to tell Arashi that fact and worry him, however, so he simply lied and said that he was feeling perfectly fine and opted for just sleeping in the nurse’s office on days when he would feel really exhausted. There was only a couple weeks left after all and he had yet to deal with a few trouble spots that he didn’t want to bother Shu with so he had to pull through for just a little while longer.

Or so he thought.

As Shu feared, Mika gradually had gotten more and more tired with each passing day—unable to alleviate the exhaustion with sleep due to how much energy he had spent trying to make the dress. He had tried to convince him to stay home and rest one day, forced him even, but Mika was adamant about it to the point that not even he could stop him. After more time had passed, he finally decided to approach Arashi about getting Mika to stop...only for it to be too late.

“It’s done! It still looks a little funny but…”

Mika held the dress against his chest contently as he pictured Arashi happily modeling it with the brightest smile on her face.

[I hope she loves it.]

Feeling a little dizzy, Mika carefully placed the dress back on the mannequin it was originally on and made his way towards the cafe to buy some food before heading over to the nurse’s office for some well-earned rest. He could feel his eyes blur and his steps grow unsteady as he walked out of the room and down the hallway towards his destination. [Weird. Has my footsteps always been this loud?]

Her footsteps echoed against the tile floors as Arashi ran towards Mika at record speed while he stood leaning against the nearest wall with his legs on the verge of giving out completely. I gotta keep my eyes open, he thought as he forced his eyelids to stay up even though he could feel the world spinning around him.

Mika-chan!

Before Mika’s body hit the ground, he vaguely felt Arashi’s strong arms catch him and pull him close as his vision began to grow dark. 

[Naru-chan...I...]

A vision of Arashi’s smile flickered within his mind as he felt his body grow limp in her arms.

[I hope you like it.]


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A week has passed since Mika collapsed and it is now the day of Mika and Arashi’s anniversary. Will everything turn out alright? All he could do is wait and see.

[Mika-chan.  
Mika-chan...  
Mika-chan…!  
How long are you going to sleep?

Hm…? Just a little more Naru-chan.]

“Kagehira!”

“Huh?”

[Oshi-san!]

Mika quickly sat up in surprise over Shu raising his voice before trying to make sense of his surroundings. He could’ve sworn he was at school earlier but now he seems to be in his room? Did Shu carry him here? Or was it…?

“How long are you going to sleep? Honestly, what did I tell you about not overdoing it?”

“Sorry, Oshi-san. What day is it?”

“It’s Saturday. The 3rd.”

Our anniversary!

“I have to go to school!”

Before he could get up, Shu immediately pushed him back down onto the bed and instructed him to wait a little longer before returning.

“Your teachers have already been informed of your extended absence. Do you really think that I would allow you to return to school immediately upon waking up? You may have your energy back but there are other things to consider…”

“Please Oshi-san. Just for today. It’s really important. I won’t go to class just-“

“Non! I will not have you pushing your limits again. Honestly, Kagehira. Do you really think I would allow you to collapse on me again?”

Mika looked down sheepishly. “Sorry…”

Shu sighed deeply as he rubbed his temples.

“I will send Narukami here once classes are over. I still have projects of my own to complete.”

“Eh?”

“I will leave you two to talk. I can’t have you sneaking out of here just to end up worrying everyone unnecessarily. Just make sure you take care of things before I return. Understand?”

Mika was quiet for a moment before nodding his head in agreement.

“As long as you understand then I will be taking my leave.”

It was really unusual for Shu to be so kind to him like this so he must have really worried him considering how long he had been asleep. Honestly, Mika was more surprised that Shu hadn’t scolded him more than he did. He did recall him saying something about not overdoing it but all that was on his mind was “I gotta make this perfect. I gotta do this. For Naru-chan” without any concern towards his own health. No doubt Arashi will probably scold him in Shu’s place—making for a very awkward anniversary celebration.

He glanced up at the clock.

[There’s only about an hour and a half left before classes are over. What should I do until they come back? Sleep?]

His stomach growled noisily in response as he took it upon himself to hunt for some food. Fortunately for him, it appears that Shu had already prepared some porridge for him that just needed to be reheated. Honestly, it wasn’t as if he was sick or anything, but nevertheless, Mika couldn’t help but smile a little at Shu’s efforts to take care of him despite his attitude from before. Not that he minded of course. That was simply how he was.

[Naru-chan.]

Lingering in silence in the back of his mind, he remembered the dress he had made—left forgotten back in the handicrafts club room. Did Shu bring it back with him? Or was it still left behind? Mika wasn’t sure but he knew Shu wouldn’t be pleased if he caught him sneaking into the handicrafts room when he was supposed to be resting at home. With about an hour left of classes now, it was unlikely that he’d have enough time to hurry to school and return home before Arashi arrives.

He just had to trust him and hope that the dress was somewhere in the house.

[No.  
No.  
No.  
Where is it?]

After Mika had finished eating, he immediately went into each room he was allowed to go in and examined every nook and cranny for his creation to no avail. He only had access to a few rooms in the house and each one of them came up empty. What should he do? Should he disobey Shu and go to school anyway? He couldn’t do that! Shu isn’t very fond of cell phones either so it wasn’t like he could call him to pick it up either.

He could feel his head spin over having over-exerting himself again with what little strength he had so he took a deep breath and tried to relax himself enough to avoid falling over. Naru-chan would understand right? There was no doubt that she would. In fact, she probably would’ve preferred that he had listened to Shu’s instructions. He may not have liked the idea of giving up, but with his body tiredly forcing him to, he felt that he had no choice. Unwillingly, he returned to his room to rest a little while longer until Arashi arrived.

[Mm…It feels so warm here…  
Naru-chan is stroking my head. It feels so nice…]

“Mika-chan.”

His eyes stared sleepily at the figure sitting by his bedside—unable to differentiate the difference between his dreams and reality. “Naru-chan…”

“I need you to wake up. You know I can’t talk to you like this.”

He could feel his eyelids flutter as he slowly rolled onto his back and pushed himself upward before turning to look at the person who looked an awful lot like Arashi. But there was simply no way it could be her. She didn’t know where the key to the house was kept. That is, unless Shu told her…

“Naru-chan…?”

Arashi smiled softly as she pulled him into a gentle embrace. “I’m so glad you’re alright. I was so worried about you.”

Slowly realizing that Arashi’s arms around him felt too real to be a dream, Mika dazedly buried his face into her chest while wrapping his own arms around her in return. “I’m sorry, Naru-chan. I’m so sorry.”

After a few minutes of drinking in each other’s presence, Arashi pulled away from him while Mika tried to blink the sleepiness away. She considered going home, opting to allow Mika to rest more instead of urging him to talk, only for Mika to shake his head and awkwardly place his hand over hers. And from the corner of his eye, he could see the dress he had created laid neatly upon the foot of the bed much to his great surprise.

“I was going to scold you for what you did, but… This dress-“

She stood up to pick up the dress and hold it in front of her to give them both a better look. “Did you make this for me?”

Mika could feel his face grow warm as he averted her gaze while still nodding in response.

Her smile became brighter as she held the dress close. “I’m going to change. I’ll be right back.”

And with that, she happily left the room leaving Mika alone with his muddled thoughts all related to how beautiful she looked in that moment. His heart thudded loudly as he tried to force himself to calm down before he makes a fool of himself.

[She’s happy.  
She loves it.  
I actually did it.]

But what if…

[What if she doesn’t like it after she puts it on?  
What if it doesn’t fit?  
What if she notices the mistakes I made?  
What if she actually hates it?]

Why is my heartbeat so loud?

“Mika-chan? Are you alright?”

Seeing Mika appear frozen by his own thoughts, Arashi quickly rushed over to him causing the skirt to flutter behind her softly.

[Do you like it?]

Those were the words he wanted to say but all he could do was nod.

If only she could just hear my thoughts.

“Look at me.”

She placed her hands upon his face and tilted it so that he could see her face. “I love it.”

Now that he was looking at her properly, she let go of him, her fingers lingering for mere seconds, to model his creation.

Despite her tall and slightly muscular body, the dress complimented her figure nicely without drawing attention to the aspects of her that she wasn’t satisfied with.

Normally, wearing a dress alone would’ve made her feel uneasy. Her thoughts would instantly supply the words “unsuitable” and “not cute”, yet something about this dress in particular felt perfect to her. She couldn’t find a single flaw in it—feeling comfortable as she spun around with light steps allowing the skirt to swish gently around her—before holding it at an angle to admire the beautiful colors that looked nice with her skin tone.

[She...loves the dress.]

“Of course I love the dress!” she exclaimed indignantly. “I can’t see why you would say such a thing. There’s no way I wouldn’t love it.”

Mika stared in confusion in response to her comment. He hadn’t said anything yet so how?

She laughed brightly. “You’re like an open book, Mika-chan! Also…”

With her eyes closed shut, she placed her hand upon her chest and began to listen to the heartbeats that seemed to echo against each other. Resonating. “I can hear it. It’s strange but...ever since I put on this dress I started to hear your voice echoing in my head.”

[Kagehira, you have the power to imbue another effect into these threads.]

“You sounded unsure. Like you didn’t believe that you could make me happy when I’m already the happiest person in the world just being with you.”

Tears began to form around the corners of his eyes as Mika tried not to let them fall. But before he could move to wipe them away, Arashi drew close to kiss them away prior to pinning him down to the bed.

“What do you need me to do to make you realize this?”

[I love you, Mika-chan.]

He could feel his breath get caught in his throat as he struggled to find the right words to say.

He could hear them both. The words that came out of her mouth and the words that echoed in his mind.

Could that be his other ability? For them to be able to hear what is in each other’s hearts?

“Naru-chan, I…”

[Kiss me again.]

Hearing those words within her mind, she pressed her lips against his own while he melted into the kiss that was just...so soft and completely real. Arashi was here. Kissing him in his room. This wasn’t a dream.

“Relax for a bit. I should be scolding you for pushing yourself too hard when you really should’ve just trusted me, but right now I just want to spoil you for a bit.”

Fingers drifted towards the buttons of his shirt as she pressed her lips against his once again and then made her way down a different direction.

A kiss against the nape of his neck.  
His cheeks.  
His wrists.  
His palms.  
His stomach (much to his great embarrassment and her amusement).  
Various butterfly kisses against his chest.

She left a kiss upon every place she could until finally leaving one last kiss upon his heart causing their heartbeats to beat loudly in time with each other.

Her face flushed pink as she laid next to him and cuddled against him affectionately—their chests pressed against each other.

[I love you.]

They didn’t need words to express this but a little reassurance is never a bad thing.

“Let’s just stay like this for a little while, okay? I don’t want to push you too hard.”

[I…]

“Next time. I promise. You’re surprisingly perverted aren’t you, Mika-chan?”

“I didn’t say anything!”

They laughed and Mika could feel her breath against his skin as they did so.

Loving someone is scary but…

He glanced at Arashi and she looked back with a smile.

I think I’ll be okay.

“Happy anniversary, Mika-chan.”

“Happy anniversary, Naru-chan.”

And for a moment, all was quiet except for the sound of their resonating heartbeats.

 

 

  
***Omake***

“Will you not be going home right away, Shu?”

Shu frantically shoved the jacket under the desk in embarrassment over being seen all while spluttering a mess of words that didn’t make any sense.

“I’m quite sure you know how to knock do you not?”

Rei chuckled openly without any intention of hiding it as he pointed at the jacket still laid on Shu’s lap. “Will you not be giving me that jacket? It appears to be complete to me.”

“That is not for you to decide!”

Smirking, Rei gracefully made his way towards Shu to get a better look at the jacket he was hiding from him. And with one hand, he carefully grabbed hold of the hand Shu was using to hold down the garment while using the other to support him as he pulled him close enough to whisper in his ear.

“I know that you allowed Arashi-kun to visit your little bird with the intention of not going home for a while. With that said…”

He gently tugged the jacket out of Shu’s grasp and slipped it on while flashing his dear friend a knowing smile.

What dream of yours will you be showing me today?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can’t actually write ReiShu. I’m not great at writing Rei ^^; Sorry guys. Also can’t write M fics without getting really embarrassed so this is all you get.
> 
> To give some context for this AU of sorts, only people who work with handicrafts plus Sora (due to his connection to Tsumugi) can draw out and make use of heartstrings. Shu can show the wearer his dreams if he uses the thread to create clothing, Mika’s is explained in the fic, and though not very obvious, Sora can create aurora effects (illusions of sorts) with the threads. Will I write something for Tsumugi and Kuro I don’t know yet.


End file.
